Another reminder of the longevity and success of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa came Sunday, when he won his 2,500th career game.</p><p>La Russa is in his 31st season and stands third on the all-time list, behind only Hall of Famers Connie Mack (3,731-3,948) and John McGraw (2,763-1,948).</p><p>Three more seasons, and La Russa (2,500-2,177) should pass McGraw. He has a fan in Royals manager Trey Hillman, who is open about his affection for La Russa.</p><p>Hillman sought La Russa out for extended chats before games this weekend &mdash; including one Saturday in the Cardinals&rsquo; dugout.</p><p>&ldquo;(La Russa) has been exceptionally kind with his time,&rdquo; Hillman said. &ldquo;I know what a manager&rsquo;s time constraints are during the course of a day. Just the amount of sharing and encouraging questions, he loves talking the game. We&rsquo;ve talked about some very detailed things over the two years.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s always offered to give any advice, answer any questions, no matter how out of bounds other managers might think they are. He told me early on, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll talk to you about anything.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Crowds at The K</span></strong></p><p>The I-70 Series drew 110,234 fans to Kauffman Stadium this weekend, the most for any three-game series in Kansas City this year.</p><p>The previous biggest draw for a three-game series this season was 87,149 for the Tigers April 24-26.</p><p>The four games against Baltimore May 14-17 drew a total of 112,111. Last year&rsquo;s Cardinals series drew 105,700 people to the K.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Meche: No connection</span></strong></p><p>Meche had perhaps the worst outing of his career five days after throwing a career-high 132 pitches, but his personal history says that&rsquo;s more coincidence than cause-and-effect.</p><p>This was Meche&rsquo;s 10th start after throwing 120 or more pitches in his previous start. </p><p>Before Sunday&rsquo;s game, Meche&rsquo;s ERA was 3.59 in those situations, significantly better than his 4.30 career ERA.</p><p>Maybe that&rsquo;s why Meche doesn&rsquo;t see a connection between all the pitches on Tuesday and all the runs he gave up on Sunday.</p><p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s stupid,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I felt fine in the bullpen, felt fine all day. It was hot. I still had my arm speed with me. It&rsquo;s just a matter of not repeating pitches.&rdquo;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Etc.</span></strong></p><p>&bull;Sidney Ponson, on a rehab assignment in Omaha, gave up six hits and two runs in five innings Sunday.</p><p>&bull;Everett Teaford gave up seven earned runs and eight hits in just two-thirds of an inning in his second start after being promoted to Class AA.</p><p>&bull;This was the 12th time the Royals drew more than 30,000. Last year, they had eight.